There is required for an absorbent article such as sanitary napkins or paper diapers a good and comfortable fit to the body, in addition to preventing exudates from leaking.
There has been conventionally proposed, for example, a curved sanitary napkin in which an elastic material in initial tension is arranged at the longitudinal edge of the napkin. If a sanitary napkin is formed into a curved shape by an elastic material, the body fit is enhanced, and an improvement in wearer's feeling of fit as well as the reduction of side leaking can be achieved. Such sanitary napkins are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,668,230, 4,701,177 and 4,770,657.
In the absorbent articles disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Patents, an elastic material is directly or indirectly bonded to the edge of a sheet surface which contacts with the body. A seal is provided which divides the elastic material arranged at this edge and an absorbent core positioned at the center. In this conventional constitution, a curved shape is provided to an absorbent article such as a sanitary napkin by wrinkling the surface sheet and the elastic material.
However, the above-mentioned conventional absorbent article has a problem that causes an uncomfortable feeling due to a deep wrinkle caused on the surface sheet of the edge and impairs comfortableness at the time of using the absorbent article in a curved shape, particularly when the surface sheet is a plastic material. Therefore, such sanitary napkins are not completely satisfactory, and there remains a need for improvement in fit, comfort, and containment by sanitary napkins and other absorbent articles.
The object of this invention is to provide an absorbent article which can enhance body fit in usage and can achieve can improvement in comfort and reduction of side leakage.